我和我的猫语言不通，但我们心意相通 Blissfully at a loss for words in Beijing

As one who has long struggled with even the essentials of Mandarin, I’ve developed an odd but richly rewarding late-night hobby in China.

长久以来，我连中文里最基本的语句也很难弄明白。而这样的我却在中国养成了一种晚间爱好。说来奇怪，这个爱好让我受益匪浅。

I enjoy watching Chinese television series that lack English subtitles, the dialogue of which I cannot understand, so that I can attempt to comprehend — through sheer guesswork and such clues as body language and context — just what the heck is transpiring before my eyes.

我喜欢看没有英文字幕的中国电视剧。因为不懂他们的对话，所以我可以趁此机会通过单纯的猜测，根据身体语言和故事背景提供的线索，理解所有在眼前浮现的画面。

It’s at once baffling and amusing. It’s rarely easy to figure out, and I’m often mistaken. For example, in one series, the characters I thought were teenage boyfriend and girlfriend, based on their close relationship and bouts of seeming jealousy, turn out, apparently, to have been brother and sister. Baffling indeed.

比如在一部电视剧里，两个年轻主角关系如此亲密，甚至还有嫉妒的成分，让我认为他们肯定是情侣。结果当然是我错了，他们居然是兄妹。真是给人满满的挫败感。

I’ve come to realize that human interaction ultimately transcends vocabulary. Words are nothing more than “couriers” of meaning, shuttling about — like their busy motorbike-riding human counterparts in Beijing — on the sidewalks and roadways of our relationships. And, like these human counterparts, words sometimes go against traffic and exasperate us.

我发现，人与人的交往最终是跨语言的。文字不过是人们传达意思的“信使”，在人际关系的道路上不断穿梭，就像在北京街头骑摩托车东奔西走的人一样。同样，这些“信使”有时候也会违反交通规则，也会激怒他人。

My two favorite Chinese series of late are A Splendid Life in Beijing (I’ve managed to watch all 40-some episodes twice so far) andOnce Upon a Time in Tsingtao (akaQingdao Memories).

最近，我最喜欢的两部中国电视剧是《生逢灿烂的日子》（这部剧有40多集，我已经看了两遍）和《青岛往事》。

The former takes place in modern times, following the adventures of four brothers and the women in their lives (wives, mistresses, etc.), while the latter portrays three brothers and their wives in early 20th-century Qingdao, Shandong province. Although both are highly dramatic “tearjerkers”, the former is endearingly realistic, while the latter is sometimes over the top.

《生逢灿烂的日子》故事发生在现代，讲述的是四兄弟和出现在他们生命中的女人（妻子、情妇等）的成长历程。《青岛往事》描绘的是20世纪初，山东青岛的三兄弟和他们妻子的故事。尽管两部剧都极度催泪，《生逢灿烂的日子》侧重现实，观感舒适，而《青岛往事》则不时出现夸张的剧情。

I’ve since found Splendid Lifewith English subtitles on the web, thereby filling in many of the blanks. But I’ve not been so lucky withOnce Upon a Time, so I can hardly discuss (let alone comprehend) the details. However, the lesson I take away from watching both is that we can deeply empathize and form strong emotional bonds with even those who aren’t anything like us, and can intuitively come to know people and places without understanding so much as a word.

我在网上找到了《生逢灿烂的日子》的英文字幕版本，填补了对这部剧的许多理解空白。搜寻《青岛往事》英文字幕的时候我就没有那么幸运了，因此，我几乎无法说出剧中细节，更不用说理解全剧。不管怎样，我从这两部剧中学到的是，我们可以与那些与自己完全不同的人产生深刻的共鸣，形成坚韧的情感纽带。我们还能抛开语言文字的界限，凭直觉了解一个人，一个地方。

This has certainly been the case in my many years of tai chi training. I’ve had highly enlightening private lessons with my Chinese master, who speaks little to no English. Friends often ask, “How is that possible?” Because, I tell them, communication goes far beyond the vocal cords. The purest dialogue takes place deep in our hearts and minds. And, when necessary, through pantomime.

我练习了多年的太极也是如此。给我上课的是一位中国太极师父，在课上我常感到醍醐灌顶，但这位太极师父几乎不会讲英语。朋友经常问我：“这样怎么可能学到真功夫？”我告诉他们，因为交流不必停留在声带。人类最纯粹的对话发生在深层次的心灵交流上，如有必要，可以辅以表情和肢体动作。

When we want to understand, we can and will understand — a crucial point as China embarks anew on the historical Silk Road routes, and as global exchanges become more numerous and convenient.

如果我们有心了解，我们就必然能够了解。在中国提出“一带一路”倡议，世界交流日益频繁便捷的当下，这一点非常重要。

A case in point. At a coffee shop recently, a young woman remarked to me in Mandarin via WeChat (and I subsequently translated, also via WeChat) that she was concerned the language barrier would prevent us from becoming close friends.

举个例子，最近在一间咖啡店里，一个年轻女性用普通话在微信里说（我马上用微信翻译了她的话），她担心语言障碍会阻碍我们成为好朋友。

My impromptu response, which I translated into Mandarin on my smartphone and conveyed via WeChat, brought a beaming smile to her face.

我马上用手机将我的回答翻译成普通话，回了她的微信，这个回答换来了她灿烂的笑容。

“My cat and I cannot talk, either,” I told her, “but we understand each other very well’’.

“我和我的猫的语言不通，”我告诉她，“但是我们都了解彼此。”